Last year I had to take three rounds of increasingly strong antibiotics to kill off a sinus infection. I have problems with chronic on again/off again ear and sinus infections.

When I went gluten free, things got better for a while. Then when I came back to Atkins, things got better, for a while.

My allergies are not very controlled with allergy meds and flonase. My doc says the infections are allergy related. The only thing I know for sure that really makes things worse is when we vacuum the house. It is best if I leave for a couple hours. Which is impractical seeing how we have pets and vacuum almost daily!

Okay, before I write a book, I'm going to make a list of my symptoms and then a list of the things I am going to try. I'll post back as I do this self designed detox, to see if anything works.

Of course advice and feedback is always welcome

possible candida symptoms:
~ worsened allergies
~ chronic sinus infections and runny/itchy nose
~ chronic ear infections and itchy/waxy ears
~ occasional itchy waxy like rash on my arms
~ red rash like area under my breasts (I shower and dry the area carefully and it doesn't seem to go away completly)
~ occasional bloating and gas, not seeming to be related to food as I eat the same foods on a regular basis.
~ return of IBS symptoms that I have not had since going gluten free. When I started taking a probiotic last week to help with IBS symptoms, I had a big lack of energy and some bathroom issues so I stopped. This is the same probiotic I've used in the past.
~chronic on again/off again dandruff that does not seem to be related to anything i do.
~ In the past two months I have begun developing occasional and mild athlete's foot (yuck!) I've NEVER had it.

Detox plan (2 weeks):
~ take a daily probiotic, and continue small amount of greek yogurt I already eat.
~ Take oregano oil (I haven't decided on caps or drops yet)
~ Start taking ACV 2-3T a day
~ add coconut oil to the daily fat bombs
~ continue oil pulling (now that I think of it, I went through a bit of a detox when I started oil pulling about a month ago)
~ Diatomaceous Earth, use as a supplement for two weeks.
~ Starting several days before and during, take an echinacea supplement, as preventative.

~ Cut out cheeses, processed meats, peanuts (rarely eat anyway), other fermented foods, mushrooms, and mustard
~ I plan to increase the fresh veggies and do a good atkins induction menu.
~ I'm supposed to give up coffee. . . Honestly I'm not sure that is going to happen. It is my 'treat' and I really look forward to it every morning.
~ I am also going to make 'sassy water' a recipe from the flat belly diet book. It is water infused with lemon juice, cucumber, mint, and ginger. I think these things will help my body, if I do detox, to cope with it. Plus DH and I like the sassy water.

I have read that the detox period can be pretty ruff. So I am prepared for that as best I can. Honestly if this is a problem and it means that my I will feel better afterwards I can deal with feeling poorly. I mean at least once a month right now I feel poorly as my body fights off yet another sinus infection.

And finally, I plan to start on the 5th of June. (just after my payday )

Well I am all set to start my candida cleanse/detox tomorrow. I started the echinacea yesterday. I ended up going with Now candida support instead of oregano oil. It has oregano oil in it, as well as a few other things, such as caprylic acid, pau d'arco, biotin, garlic, olive leaf, and cat's paw. All of these things had been mentioned by various websites as anti-candida.
I said good bye to my last coffee today and when I went grocery shopping, I did not buy any cheese, mustard etc.

I start tomorrow morning and will update my progress for anyone interested

Well I started this morning about 1am when I get up. I felt fine working and for about an hour after I got home. Then I felt REALLY sleepy and took a 4 hour nap. DH was worried cause he had a hard time waking me up. I woke up feeling like I have the flu! Achy all over and exhausted. So far no real Gi distress, beyond some . . .uh. . . stinkiness this afternoon.

the only part off plan was I have only had 1 AVC tonic. It made me feel pretty sick to my stomach for about 20 minutes and with how I am feeling today, I didn't want to add that feeling again.

I'm still feeling like poo today I had a little more energy this morning for a while after work. Then almost all of a sudden I had 0 energy. I didn't want to sleep too much again, as I did not sleep that well last night, so I treated myself to 3 hours of my current tv show.

Other symptoms, my sinuses hurt today, which is usually a precurser to an infection, but no mucus which is usually the next step. My throat has been a little sore today, scratchy like and my glands are a little swollen. I read that this is all to be expected.

I have found the DE to be a little stimulating. I feel a little energized for a while after taking it.

I won't bore you all with too many more posts, but will check in on my progress every few days for a record in case anyone else reads this in the future and decides to try it.

Well I thought I feeling a little better, then yesterday afternoon my energy levels dropped to 0 again and haven't come back up! I also weighted over 1 pound less this morning?

I keep drinking lots of water.

I also stopped using flonase. My doc's nurse called me back and we discussed that "very rarely" it can aggravate systemic candida. So best just to stop it for now.

Mostly, I am low on the aforementioned energy. Also I have noticed some increased irritation under my breasts, horrible breath when I wake up (not normal), and a mild yeast infection on my girly bits. (this would be like the fourth one I've ever had). More sinus congestion, and achy sinuses, as well as my throat still being sore.

The one thing that has gotten better, my asthma-like symptoms. Since going gluten free, I no longer test out for asthma, but lately have been having the tightness and shortness of breath. This seems to be getting better. I haven't had to use the rescue inhaler since yesterday AM.

I had to stop last Sunday. Honestly I couldn't take feeling so sick any longer. I was miserable and couldn't even clean my house.

I am rethinking how to go about this, as obviously I have a problem with candida. For now I am still avoiding the foods that can aggravate it, and switched to a less intense probiotic. I will post back when I have a new plan.